The Night to the 25th Caelusmens
by Psianabel
Summary: From the night to the 25th Caelusmens a meteor shower graces Orience's night sky. It is said that it grants wishes for the next year and so the people of Orience spend the night together with their loved ones to watch the beautiful spectacle at the night sky. But some people need to ask their partner first before they can watch the shooting stars. (ships tagged in chapters)
1. Celestia & Queen Andoria

Cae. XXIV 841, late afternoon.

* * *

A chilly wind swept through the open hall of the Concordian Castle, moving leaves with it that danced in the wind. The azure colored Crystal shined in a decent glow, barely visible by the sunlight that engulfed the room in a warm atmosphere.

But the Crystal seem to react by an approaching presence, glowing in an intense blue now as the person stepped closer. They seem to know each other well, this wasn't the first time the Crystal talked to the person – in fact the Crystal was close to its l'Cie, they shared a lot of conversations in the past. Though this time it was in person. It wasn't a usual sight that the Queen of Concordia stepped in front of the Crystal to talk to it instead of using the unseen connection a l'Cie and the Crystal shared.

Today was an important exchange, on that might change history.

There was an utter silence in the open room, save of the sounds of blowing wind that rustled faint against the walls – the place was on top of the castle high in the air and only the Queen and two of her closest subordinates had access to the Crystal Room.

So of course she would immediately recognize a person who tried to step close to her. No one dared to interrupt the Queen in such important matters – and yet there were clearly noises of footsteps heard in the distance, coming closer with each passing second. And with the way the person was walking towards her, she knew who it was. It could only be _her_ who was brave enough to interfere anything to get close to the Queen.

She couldn't blame her.

She didn't need to turn around when the footsteps disappeared right behind her, only closing her eyes and smiling when she felt two arms around her middle and a chin digging in her shoulder, though the feeling of it quickly disappeared. No words passed their lips as they stood behind each other, the Queen acknowledging the presence of her subordinate.

"Celestia," the Queen broke the piercing silence in the room, "what a pleasant company."

Clothes ruffled behind her, shuffling a bit as the silence occurred again – Celestia waited for the Queen making the first move before she dared to speak to her. Though the Crystal only glowed more intense, the light quickly fading then when the Queen nodded in its direction.

Her future tasks were settled and edged in her memory now, the l'Cie in her would carry out the path that was chosen for her.

Feeling the intense atmosphere in the room Celestia was now well aware that she just interrupted an important meeting, backing away a bit to make it not too awkward, yet the Crystal didn't seem to mind her presence now.

"I saw the future." The Queen began to speak again, still turned to the Crystal and away from Celestia, "A future that I cannot change. And the cog wheels are already turning for that event."

Celestia never truly understood the Queen's words after she had a conversation with the Crystal, what they discussed was only an issue for them – and yet she caught the glimpse of hurt in her words. If she understood one thing, then it was this.

With a single footstep she came closer to her and the Queen finally turned around then to face her, her blue glowing eyes flashing her for a second before they returned to her normal eye color.

"So, Celestia, I ask that … please don't interrupt me in my actions."

"... I won't, Kaya." Celestia caught her eye then, seeing a little twitch of her lips at the mention of her first name only she was allowed to use. "I know about the dissension between Milites and Rubrum, it gets heated at their border-"

"Please, not now. … Not today."

She nodded and dropped the topic immediately, averting her eyes from her in apology, but the Queen lifted her head up again with a tip against her chin.

"Say, today is the night to the 25th Caelusmens, right?"

"Yes, actually I was here to ask if-"

"I know, I know." She chuckled and dropped the hand then, reaching to Celestia's hand instead. "The goddess' tears will bless out night sky today."

Celestia accepted the invitation and linked her hands with her, reaching it to her lips to place a kiss on the back of the Queen's hand.

"Do you want to spend the night with me?"

Softly the Queen formed a real smile now at this gentle gesture, cupping her cheek with her other hand and stroked a thumb over the skin there.

"Gladly." With a small tuck she stepped forward to the exit's direction, Celestia closely behind her. "... Maybe I can convince Soryu to let us sit on his head this time."

They both couldn't suppress a chuckle together, and Celestia was glad she got her to loosen up a bit, even if it was just a night. The Crystal took more and more of her humanity away the longer she was a l'Cie, but she knew it was the fate of a l'Cie and how she couldn't do anything against it.

So having this one night with her was one of the best thing she had in a while, a night she truly wouldn't want to forget.

Just her and the person she loved the most.


	2. Qun'mi & Captain Ines

Cae. XXIV 841, early night.

* * *

It was always loud in the steelworks, regardless what time it was. At this late hour of the day several people still worked on different kind of Magitek Armor, noises came from every corner of the enormous hall, resulting in an ear-piercing atmosphere. Though most noise came from the middle of the hall where Milites' newest prototype of Magitek weapon was standing, equipped with a mechanism that Orience had never seen before.

The Crystal Jammer was in development and Dainsleif was close to be finished. If everything goes in the right direction, it will be used soon. Sooner than anyone in this room thought.

Everyone was caught in up their work, they gave their best to not to disappoint the head of this whole project, because if they did, ultimate consequences would befall all of them. They knew that the moment they signed up for this project – no one wanted to face the wrath of a l'Cie.

 _She_ had her senses everywhere in this room, she had every single mechanic who built on her Dainsleif in her eyesight, no one could slack off because of that – she would notice. It was one of the benefits to be a White Tiger l'Cie, every person who had contact with Magitek was in her reach. No one dared to enrage a l'Cie, no one was able to intrude her space anyways. She was distant to everyone in this room, they only were here because of her command and worked hard to achieve this goal they had set for themselves for today.

So it was only natural for her to sense a new person approaching, someone who wasn't here the whole time before. She tilted her head to look over her shoulder to see the person coming closer, the noise of heels against steel clacking with every footstep. There were a few workers who recognized that sound, only having a hint of a smile on their faces because they knew who this person was, there was only one who would fit in this situation – many times she was here to look after the l'Cie, sometimes only to keep her company, sometimes to work with her.

And sometimes she even managed to break the emotional mask the l'Cie held upfront all the time, revealing the human self underneath that was _still there_.

Hush whispers went around the mechanics as the woman appeared in their sight, silently gossiping about what she would do today. But the l'Cie immediately turned around again, her l'Cie brand glowing in a bright green that let the lights in the hall flicker out of sudden – and the whispering of the workers were gone from their mouths, intimidated by the solely activation of her powers.

Words weren't as important if she can use action to silence them, too.

Though the approaching person wasn't intimidated by that at all, in fact she continued walking without a flinch towards Dainsleif where the l'Cie was standing right in front of it, but stopped a two meters before her. She was used to the l'Cie shenanigans, too many times she had experienced them in her life already. They might know each other very well, but invading the personal space of her in front of her subordinates out of nowhere wasn't her intention, so she kept a fine distance between them, but still close enough to talk to her.

"L'Cie?" She asked carefully, hoping to get her attention, but she didn't move at her calling and continued to stare at the Magitek Armor. "... Qun'mi?"

By hearing her name she twitched her head, looking again over her shoulder only to let out a small huff as she acknowledged her position.

"What do you want, Ines? Shouldn't you be working on Vajira?"

Her voice was sharp and definitely cut through the tense air that lingered between them. Ines swallowed.

" … I'm already finished my work today. And it's already two hours past your working hour, too, I just wanted to look-"

"I know! I know … why you are here." Qun'mi turned back again, eying the half-completed Dainsleif. "I'm not done yet. I still … need to work."

Ines could hear the anger and hurt in her voice, emotions Qun'mi adapted fast since she became a l'Cie. Since then the Crystal was downright _changing_ her, forming her in a puppet who would do whatever the Crystal told her, no matter when and where she was, she had to listen. And from the answer she gave her, Ines could feel that the Crystal was holding her here to let her complete the task to finish this Magitek Armor.

It was the fate of a l'Cie to listen, if not she had to face life-threatened consequences.

And sometimes it felt like the Crystal did give her tasks on purpose, so she got away from any social interaction that kept her humanity alive. Ines had a hunch that the Crystal played with her – that it kept their private time short only to submit her more to the Crystal. Since she was a fairly new l'Cie, her human part still fought against all this.

"Do you know what day it is, Qun'mi?" Ines took a step forward, having her eyes steadily at the l'Cie's back. She waited a few seconds for a verbal answer, but non came. Though Qun'mi seemed to be drawn in her thoughts as she turned her head to the ground. _Something_ must have stirred inside her at the mention of today. "It's the night to the 25th Caelusmens, don't you remember?"

She was still silent, but slowly nodded then as Ines took another step in her direction. The room felt suddenly silent in her ears, only the noises of Ines' heels she could recognize, the loud noises of the mechanics blocked out by her senses. Her head began to spin and she had to close her eyes in order not to lose her focus – this little remembrance of the humanity inside her was enough for the Crystal to tuck on her, reminding her why she was here.

Qun'mi fought against it. She knew that date and what it stood for, how important this date was for her and Ines – _memories_ linked to that date. It was the night people spent with their significant other to watch the stars at the night sky and wish for their dreams to come true next year.

"We promised to watch the sky together." Qun'mi slowly whispered to herself, taking a deep breath after she said it again. There was no way she would let loose of that memory, memories of her and Ines together – it was the only thing that kept her human self alive.

She almost got startled as she felt a pair of arms around her middle, Ines being pressed against her back as she opened her eyes again finally – her senses there again, but without the voice of the Crystal in her ears. There was a weight against the back of her head – against the helmet she wore – together with the rise and fall of Ines' chest against her

" _Please, Crystal, let us go._ "

It was a plea from both, knowing that without the Crystal's permission Qun'mi couldn't go anywhere. For a while they just stood there, Ines embracing the l'Cie tight to await her reaction – and it came in form of her hands covering hers on her stomach, holding and squeezing them slightly as Qun'mi exhaled deep.

"Okay." Qun'mi took Ines' hands and turned around then, facing her the first time this night. "Okay. We can."

Ines didn't know what to do first as she slowly processed this information, but she immediately hugged her close and pressed her lips against the forehead of the helmet. Qun'mi only let our a small "tch" at her reaction, pushing her a bit away as she realized that they were still at her working place – and all of the mechanics that were still working probably saw the whole conversation between them.

She turned around to the workers who desperately tried not to look in their direction, but Qun'mi noticed their staring – and honestly, she couldn't blame them.

With a sigh she reached for her helmet and took it off, tucking it under her arm as her eyes scanned the room.

"You are free to go. We can finish this tomorrow." Her voice echoed through the hall and waves of cheering came as response. "Spend the night with your partner, you might need it."

Turning around to her girlfriend again, Qun'mi could see the sparkle in Ines' eyes, still not believing that the Crystal suddenly made such a turnaround from one minute to another. But she didn't want to ask why it was that way, maybe Qun'mi didn't even know – maybe her humanity did beat the Crystal's will for once.

Neither cared, the only thing that was important now that they finally had a night together – such a special night, outside, only the two of them.

"Come on, let's go before the Crystal changes its mind." Qun'mi tucked on Ines' hand as she made her way towards the exit with a little smile on her face, but Ines pulled her towards her once again and gave her a real kiss this time, leaving Qun'mi almost stumbling after they parted.

"Okay. Now we can."


	3. Kurasame & Kazusa (and Emina)

Cae. XXIV 841, night.

* * *

"What do you wish for?"

Kazusa's voice was almost a whisper as he gently poked Kurasame with his elbow in his side, earning only a noise that was a mixture of a grunt and a huff. But Kurasame didn't seem to be bothered by that, instead he looked up in the clear night sky, his eyes reflecting the flashing white lights that graced across the horizon.

He already was ready to go to bed the moment Kazusa knocked on the door to his private room and silently dragged him outside at this late hour, maneuvering through the dark halls of Akademeia to reach the Fountain Plaza. Of course Kurasame complained about it. It was late already after all and he was actually tired, but he tried to make sense of this whole situation. Though Kazusa didn't let go of him and insisted it will be clear pretty soon. Kurasame only huffed and followed him then of his own accord, getting curious of what his boyfriend had in store for him today.

And right now he was glad he didn't turn down the invitation in the middle of the night. As he saw a blanket lying over the soft grass in the dim shine of the street lamps he stopped walking with him and released the tight grip on his hand, only shaking his head with a small "tch" as he realized what as going on. He totally forgot that today was the night they wanted to spent together to forget the hard work that piled up the past few days and watch the shooting stars instead.

It was the night to the 25th Caelusmens after all.

His work got immense the past week, hectic even, and he was glad that at least Kazusa thought about their private life, taking care that it didn't get behind all the things that currently happened.

And now here they were, sitting beside each other in this quiet night together on the lawn, staring in the night sky to watch the first shooting stars emerging at the horizon.

"... Kurasame? Are you still thinking about your wish or is it something else?" Kazusa poked him again, but this time way more gentle as he saw him just looking at the sky without any trace of reaction.

"Huh?" He shook his head at the gentle poke, averting his eyes from the sky and almost twitched as returned to the reality again, ruffling his hair on the back of his head. "Sorry. I … got spaced out."

"You do that a lot lately …"

The concern in his voice was definitely audible and he couldn't blame him. He had a good reason to be concerned, the lack of private time together because of the sheer amount of work they both had bothered them a lot.

Kurasame sighed. There was no way he was able to hold back the reason why he was so quiet about his work lately and got him busy - this classified information that troubled their relationship now, this political secret was the only reason.

"The rumors are true. Milites is too noisy lately, the border between Meroe and Cetme is heated, Milites is on the edge and," Kurasame tilted his head to the ground, inhaling deep. "– we have no idea how much time we have left until they will start a war."

The information hit him hard, even if he could already imagine that something like this was up. Rumors spread around in Akademeia like a wild-fire, literally everyone knew about it in some way or another. How much of it was a lie or truth no one really knew, but the information somehow got leaked already.

"So it really looks that bad huh?" Kazusa looked at him now, seeing Kurasame's deep stare at the ground. His sad expression truly clenched his heart, he promised that he would never see him like that again. Turning to him, he laid his arm around his shoulder, shifting closer to comfort him better. " … The Icy Reaper will come back in action once again? Is that why you were so busy lately?"

"You know he died long ago. But … should a war break out anytime soon, then I will take part in it yes. Though it is still not clear how, but I will fight for Rubrum and the Vermillion Bird Crystal, but-"

"Kurasame." Kazusa patted him on his shoulder now, interrupting him in his rambling. "I will be here for you no matter what, okay? Don't … sweat about this now. I know now what is going on and come on, it's the only night for wishes today, right? Let's forget about the bad stuff for a while."

"I wish I could be as carefree as you." He mumbled to himself, shifting closer to him to snuggle more up to the familiar warmth of him, and laid his head on his shoulder to seek comfort. Kazusa in return laid again his arm around him and rubbed his side, giving him the ease he needed.

Quietness occurred, the soft rustling of the wind against the grass was a nice change to the noisy life they had the past days, embracing the two men in a calm atmosphere that was beyond assuasive. It felt good to do nothing for once and they both truly needed it.

"Do you know now what you wish for?" Kazusa asked him after a time of silence, nudging him as he thought Kurasame fell asleep on his shoulder, but he only closed his eyes for a while to rest.

"Hm. … I wish we could-"

"There you are guys, I was looking for you!"

Kurasame almost jumped at the sudden familiar voice behind him and removed his head from Kazusa's shoulder, not expecting any interruption at this time of the day, especially not from _her._ Both men got startled and turned around from where the voice was coming from, seeing the tall woman approaching from far.

"Emina?" Kurasame called out to her as he saw her in the dim light, but his attention immediately got drawn to the small shadow that was coming closer to him and almost tackled him down. "… Huh, Tonberry. What are you-"

"This little guy knocked at my door until I opened it. That was the moment where I knew." Emina sat down beside them, just taking the opportunity to join them now. "So I followed him down the hallway and here I am. You can't just leave him behind, Kurasame."

"Um..."

Kazusa only chuckled to himself as Kurasame looked at the little Tonberry in his lap, his tiny lamp shining bright to make out his green body and yellow eyes. The monster flopped down then, stretching his little feet from himself and looked up to Kurasame who only ran a hand over the Tonberry's head.

"Sorry, I was kind of in a rush thanks to the guy beside me."

"H-Hey!"

But the Tonberry was only silent and nudged Kurasame's hand, drawing all the attention to him as all three just looked at him. Now he was a happy Tonberry again and Kurasame sighed with a smile on his face – he wouldn't leave him behind, not after all they went through. Even Kazusa held his hand out now to ask the Tonberry for permission to be touched and they both started to pet the little monster, the Tonberry definitely enjoying this.

"The shooting stars just began, right?" Emina leaned back as she drew her gaze to the night sky. "... Oh wait, I wasn't interrupting anything, wasn't I?"

The two men stared at each other and Kazusa only shrugged, leaving the decision to Kurasame then. It was always the three of them for a long time now, so why shouldn't they spend such a special night together.

"Well, no …"

"So, have you already picked your wish yet?"

A wave of shooting stars decorated the night sky right now, flashing in the three pairs of eyes which were drawn to the sky. Even the Tonberry turned around now and snuggled up to Kurasame's stomach to look into the sky with his tiny eyes.

It was quiet for the most, all three (or four) thinking about what they want to wish at those hard times, knowing that it only will get harder in the future. If Milites really wanted to attack and Kurasame had to join the war, then -

"There is only one thing I wish." Kurasame began, linking hands with Kazusa to his left and Emina to his right on the ground. "Whatever happens, we stay together."

Emina gripped his hand harder as his words left his mouth, nodding in agreement. And Kazusa removed his hand from him to link arms instead, shifting closer again at the realization at those words hit him.

It was the only wish they all had right now, their friendship was too important to them than anything else – if they can stay together, nothing can beat them.


	4. Class Zero (Seven & Sice)

Cae. XXIV 842, night.

* * *

A fire flickered in the middle of a stone circle, crackling with each move it made as Trey poked the burned wood with a stick to enlighten it more. His gaze was drawn in the elegant dancing moves the fire made the whole time, his thoughts away from everyone else who gathered around the only source of heat in this night.

It was quiet for the most, save for the occasional giggling coming from Cater's tent, in which Deuce, Cinque, and Queen kept her company – probably talking about any nonsense story they just had invented. There were also some words coming from Ace, Eight, and Jack, who were all involved in some card game they picked up for the night. Ace quietly sighed, because he couldn't believe he just lost. King and Nine took a spot a bit further away, lying peacefully in the soft grass and only listened to the conversations of the others while they watched the night sky.

And then there were Sice and Seven sitting shoulder by shoulder in front of the fire, soaking up the heat to keep themselves warm. Though both were tired for a long time now – the endless walking through the Iscah region to the border of the Meroe region was exhausting without any chocobo to carry all the stuff they took with them – neither of them really showed their tiredness, refusing to let their eyes falling close.

It was such a comfortable moment between all of them, the rest they finally needed after such a long time. It was the night to the 25th Caelusmens now, exactly seventeen days after the war ended in Orience and Class Zero made their way through the land they only saw in flames and destroyed. Here they were making things right again, atone for the horrible things they were tasked to do and had done to other Crystal States during the war.

Currently they were on their way to Milites as their first destination, close to its border already. The chilly and cold weather of the west of Orience was slowly creeping its way close, making the night without any covers almost unbearable. But they were prepared now, the inhabitants of Aqui and Iscah were from good-nature and gave them important traveling equipment once Class Zero passed their town and helped them with rebuilding a few days. It made the nights definitely more bearable and they were more than glad to have tents and blankets to keep themselves warm.

With the Crystals gone and their Mother nowhere near in sight, their power of magic was lost – they couldn't just cast a fire spell to burn some wood to keep themselves warm, they had to make fire on their own now.

It took them five days to learn that. Trey was the one in charge of the fire, because he was the first to figure it out, he had always an eye on the fireplace he created. Thankfully he was so occupied with it he kept his mouth close and held his monologue inside him, keeping everyone away from his chattering.

The quietness definitely helped a lot to calm everyone down, go inside them to think about the things they want to do – their future was here and now.

Seven noticed a small shift against her shoulder, turning to the girl as she laid her head on her pauldron and let out a yawn that was more a groan than anything else. With a sigh Sice snuggled further and wrapped an arm around her, earning a smile from Seven at this behavior.

"Tired?" Seven nudged her, only resulting in her sighing again.

"Mhm. A bit. You not?"

"Yeah I am." Her hand stroked over her smooth white hair, caressing her gently as she purred from the touch. "But … it's so quiet here, I don't want to miss it."

Sice closed her eyes as she shifted closer to her, Seven returning the embrace with wrapping an arm around her in equal motion. Slowly she moved her hand along her side to give her some heat through friction, knowing that she might be cold from being tired. And she definitely appreciated this very much so, grinning at the close cuddle.

"I knew you were cold. You sure you don't want to go to bed now?" The older girl whispered against her head, kissing the crown of her head as Sice didn't give her a vocal answer and only shook her head, rather enjoying Seven's touches here at the fireplace instead of going to sleep in the tent.

Seven closed her eyes too now as it was decided that they both stayed here for a little while longer, just listening to the crackling of the fire in front of them, though she tilted her head as a squeal came from Cinque in the girls' tent just a few meters away, followed by laughter from the rest of the girls inside there. Her eyes moved to the boys who played cards right on the other side of the fireplace, Jack having his arms around Eight's shoulders as he knocked himself on his chest – apparently having won another game round, but this time Ace only chuckled as he dealt another set of cards. Trey was only smiling as he caught the boys' conversation, stating how Jack must be cheating by the sheer amount of luck he has.

"Everyone is so happy, huh." Sice mumbled against Seven's shoulder, not having moved a centimeter since she snuggled closer. But Seven removed the arm around her to move it to her front, making her looking up to her now as she cupped her cheek with her hand.

"And, are you happy too?" She asked softly, sweeping a thumb over her cheek as Sice leaned into her touch. "I mean, with the choices we made-"

"I am." Taking the hand into hers, she grinned. "Even though I have to put up with all of them. But … I got you."

"Wow, Sice-"

But Seven got cut off by her as she laid her lips on hers, silencing any comment she could make. For a moment the time stood still, it was just perfect in any way. It was only the two of them, surrounded by their friends who made them happy – their aching feet and tiredness suddenly washed away from them as it was never there in the first place.

Smiling they closed their eyes to embrace the kiss, only lasting for a little while because they remembered that they weren't that alone – when they broke the kiss they gazed in each others eyes a bit before Sice began to chuckle and buried her head in Seven's shoulder again, only for Seven to notice Trey's fake-coughing, though his gaze was still drawn to the fire. She chuckled then too as she scratched embarrassed her head.

"Um …"

"Yo, look at that!" Nine suddenly called out from where he was lying in the grass, poking King in the ribs with his elbow as he pushed himself up. "What is that?"

"What?" King rubbed his eyes as he sat up too to check what Nine meant, apparently he just fell asleep only minutes ago. "Huh?"

"This, man!" He bumped his fist against King's shoulder, leading his attention to the sky with pointing at it with his other hand. "What's that?"

All the yelling from Nine drew the attention of the others to him, too. Sice backed away a bit from Seven to look at him and then at the sky, nudging Seven to do it, too. The boys who played cards caught wind from it too and interrupted their play. Even the girls in the tent got curious and Queen stuck her head outside to see what was going on.

"Oh! Deuce, Cinque, I told you about this!" Queen muttered inside the tent and crawled outside then, stretching herself as she pointed to the sky like Nine with a smile. "Shooting Stars!"

"What?"

Everyone was now looking at the sky and admired the sparkly white lights that flashed over the night sky, not daring to look away at this beautiful spectacle.

"What's a shooting star?" Cater asked as she followed Queen outside, blinking a few times as she looked up. "This?"

"A shooting star is actually not a star, that's just a false naming of that. It's more of a big stone, or Meteorite as it's called." Trey started, finally getting his chance to talk, "... debris which originated from outer space. Its size can vary and-"

"You know what, nevermind, Trey." Cater sighed and crossed her arms, rather enjoying the view without any further talking.

"I knew it. So it's true what this one book in the Crystarium was talking about. I almost forgot about it."

"Queen, can you enlighten us?"

"Every year in the night from the 24th to the 25th Caelusmens a meteorite passes Orience and sends off shooting stars, tiny rocks which burn up in the sky – the little white things we see there. Look, there is another!" She pointed in the sky again as another shooting star passed by. "And, the book says that everyone in Orience uses this night to think about their future, especially what they want to accomplish next year. They also called them 'the tears of the goddess'."

"Oh that sounds wonderful!" Deuce said and clung onto Cinque's arm, snuggling close as they both watched the sky together, their faces lighten up at the sight of another shooting star. "You mean like a wish?"

"Can be a wish if that's what you want to call it, yes."

"Wishes huh?"

Everyone was quiet for a moment, only marveling at the spectacle in the sky. Sice tucked on Seven's sleeve to get her attention a little while, whispering hushed words in her ear that were too private and for the others not to understand. Cinque returned the tight grab on her arm from Deuce, embracing her with a giggle as the two girls linked their hands together. And there was Jack who had his arm lying over Eight's shoulder, pointing out every little light he noticed in the sky with a laughter, only for Eight responding with a smile.

For a moment they were all alone for themselves, digging deep inside them to think about something they wished for as they gazed upon the sky.

"I wish that we reach the Meroe tomorrow, yo."

"But, Nine, aren't we supposed to think about something we want next year? … That's something you want tomorrow."

"Well uh-"

"I wish Mother comes back!" Cinque exclaimed with a little jump, "So she can tell us goodnight stories again and travel with us!"

"... That's … yeah." She received nods and agreements from the others, ultimate clear that it was a wish everyone had.

"I want to meet a lot of kind people in this world." Deuce quietly spoke, "Militesi, Concordian – maybe there are still Lorican we can meet? I'm excited to hear their stories."

"... I wish for Machina and Rem to come back from crystal Stasis." Ace crossed his arms as he averted his gaze from the sky. "I mean … we've only know them for a short time, but they kind of grew onto me. … They opened my eyes in a lot of ways."

King walked over to him and patted him on his shoulder. "I understand you, Ace."

"They might not be our siblings, but they were our classmates and fought with us ..."

"They deserve happiness, too."

Sice looked over to Seven again, seeing her having her gaze still locked at the sky, deep in thought. She didn't want to interrupt her in her thinking, but her curiosity was strong – Seven still didn't give her an idea what she was wishing for and she wanted to know.

"What do you wish for?" Sice asked her, laying her arm again around her like previously and put her head on her shoulder to follow Seven's gaze.

But Seven only hummed and nudged with her cheek against her, keeping her eyes steady at the night sky as she still thought about what she wanted to say. Actually there were several things she wished for, for example she agreed with Cinque's wish that Mother should come back. They still promised each other that they would travel Orience with her, visiting all the cities together.

And of course there were other minor wishes like staying safe and keep going in their lives, but she always wished that for the others since she was a little kid and it always came true – but today were these big wish-granting shooting stars at the night sky, maybe today it was time for her to think about something personal that would just make her truly happy.

"You know, actually there is only one thing I wish for myself." Seven finally gave her an answer after a long pause, "Though it also has something to do with you, too."

Sice said nothing at first, only tilting her head to her and placing her chin on her shoulder to prepare herself for Seven's final answer. "Well, I'm all ears."

She inhaled deep then, closing her eyes and forming a smile on her face.

"I wish we could watch the stars like this every year. I wish … just to sit here with you."

It was just a whisper drowning in the chuckle coming from her then, tilting her head down to face the ground now, chuckling to herself as she couldn't believe she just said. But for Sice it was loud enough to linger long inside her, fueling her heart with a warmth she encountered a lot since she and Seven were part of each other lives.

A few seconds she was silent, looking at her with wide eyes as she finally proceed what Seven just said to her, but snorting then with a big grin on her face, reaching out to her with her free hand to lift her chin up again. They locked their eyes and Seven could see a spark in her eyes as they both looked at each other with an adoring smile. Though Sice mused about what answer she could give her and there was only one which truly came from her heart.

"Consider it done."

It was so corny, they knew, but right now neither of them really cared about that. If that's what their hearts were telling them, then there was no way to suppress it, especially if it was about the person they treasured the most.

And Seven returned the grin Sice had on her lips the whole time and pulled her in a tight hug, Sice only snickering as Seven couldn't stop smiling. Their embrace was close and neither of them wanted to go, even though probably everyone around them stared at them and it slowly became awkward. But this closeness was important for them right now.

"I love you." were the only soft whispers the two could exchange, their hearts beating way too fast to think about anything else. But bit by bit they released their grip, still holding hands as they returned to the previous sitting position beside each other with their gazes drawn to the sky, Sice again snuggling close and laying her head on her shoulder.

Seven swept a thumb over Sice's back of her hand, feeling her snorting on her shoulder at the gentle gesture, but not saying anything.

It was the perfect situation that didn't need any words, they were here together, save and sound, with their classmates they considered as their family. And looking at them right now it seemed that they all agreed with that – nothing would ever bring them apart.

Every single one of them had this realization as they watched the sky together, Cinque holding Deuce's hand and swung it back and forth as she pointed at another shooting star, Eight only chuckling as Jack tried to tell him a ridiculous joke. The rest of the group smiled at those dorks, telling them their wishes they still had on their tongues.

But in the end they all realized they all had the same wish.

 _We wish … we could always be together._


End file.
